They choose to live with just enough furniture, hardly any clothes and a bare minimum of worldly possessions in a bid to declutter their lives and turn their backs on overconsumption.

It's called minimalism - a choice to live with less stuff so they can have more time and money for the things they consider to be more important.

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Brooke and Ben McAlary chose to lead a minimalist lifestyle three years ago with their five-year-old daughter Isla and three-year-old son Toby

When Brooke McAlary first decided to take up minimalist living, the 33-year-old, her husband Ben and two children Isla, 5, and Toby, 3, threw out a whopping 20,000 items from their Blue Mountains home in NSW.

That was three years ago and their home is even less cluttered today.

'We're pretty close to not having to declutter at all any more,' Ms McAlary told Daily Mail Australia.

'The only thing that's stopping us is that we do have two young kids and they grow out of clothes and toys, so every three months I'm decluttering.

'I'm finding things that were once sentimental or important six months ago aren't any more and I've now been able to let them go.'

Brooke McAlary's wardrobe is now practically empty after she threw out a whopping 20,000 items from her Blue Mountains home in NSW

Ms McAlary, who blogs about her minimalist lifestyle, said her family stopped shopping for things they wanted and opted to only spend money on things they need.

'We typically only spend money on bills and food on a weekly basis,' she said.

'We have just enough furniture. There's no knick-knacks and we have a wall with some family photos.

'We've got two lounges and an armchair and dining chairs. We generally just shuffle furniture when needed. The kids just have a bed and a small bookshelf in their rooms and they have a handful of toys.'

Ms McAlary, who blogs about her minimalist lifestyle, said her family stopped shopping for things they wanted and opted to only spend money on things they need

The couple say they have 'just enough furniture' to get by, including two lounges and several dining chairs

Ms McAlary says their family home has very knick-knacks and is clutter free

Mark Douglass and Jess Geerligs from The Entrance on the NSW Central Coast got rid of half the stuff they owned when they opted for the minimalist lifestyle in 2011.

'I was $13,500 in credit card debt. In a year, I had paid off the debt and was $10,000 on top. That was on a part time job. I couldn't remember a time where I didn't have a credit card debt,' he said.

'We donated our stuff, gave to friends and sold on eBay. I was a bit of a bad eBay buyer and so now the tables have turned.

'I used to work as a magician and I fell into this trap of buying props and trick DVDs. Somehow I became a collector and had too much stuff - I had 500 items of magic that I had to get rid of.'

Mark Douglass and Jess Geerligs from The Entrance on the NSW Central Coast got rid of half the stuff they owned when they opted for the minimalist lifestyle in 2011

While the couple have chosen to live more simply, Mr Douglass, who also blogs about his experiences, said they don't deprive themselves of things they want.

'There's quite a few things I would never part with... like my laptop. I only have my favourite things. I don't have my favourites thing and 100 other things I kind of like,' he said.

HOW A MINIMALIST DECLUTTERS

Brooke McAlary writes a blog on all things minimalist. Here are her tips on how to de-clutter:

Start small. A handbag, kitchen utensil draw or car is a good place to begin

Empty the space completely

Create three piles: keeping, donating or moving elsewhere

Pick up each individual item and decide which pile it needs to go in

Don't put things back until you decide what you're going to do with them

Ask yourself if you have used it in the last 12 months or if you really need it

The McAlary family also wiped clean any debts they had by choosing the minimalist lifestyle.

'We had a credit card debt, it wasn't staggering but it was enough. We were able to pay that off. Typically the money we would have been spending on useless stuff we can now spend on travelling,' Ms McAlary said.

While her family has embraced minimalism, Ms McAlary said some found their lifestyle choice difficult to understand, especially around Christmas or birthdays when presents were an option.

'We will gratefully receive gifts, we're not jerks about it. But that's when I sort of most notice the difference,' she said.

'It's really difficult, particularly with grandparents, my overall kind of rule is relationships before stuff. If someone is going to be really upset about you returning a gift, then don't do it.

'Before a birthday or Christmas, we'll do a big purge, which will give room for whatever we do receive.'

The couple completely de-cluttered their home and now only keep possessions they really want

Mr Douglass was ruthless with his wardrobe after realising he had clothes he hadn't worn in 12 months